All Posts by Mike Saif

0 Pass and Move or Pass and Hold

By Mike Smith “ Go!!!!”, “ Give them some options, don’t just stand there!” , followed by “ Support!!!”, “ Don’t run away from the play!”. These are some of the most confusing and contradictory instructions players hear. If a player is supposed to always pass and move, how can they also stay in and

0 Attacking and Conditioning Drills

By Philip Cauchi Title: Combined technique and strength endurance. Theme: Applied strength. Development of the soccer domains: Technical: Attacking heading, aerial passing, dribbling, feints/fakes, and tackling. Tactical: Defending 1v1. Mental: Concentration, quick shift of focus (attacking in a 1v1 after heading the ball) and attitude to the positive or negative transition if the defender wins

0 Swiss Flag Four Corners Game

By Matthew Carroll - Description: The Swiss Four Corners drill is similar to the normal four corners game except that instead of being a large grid it has four channels, similar to the shape of the Swiss flag. The purpose of these channels is to create opportunities for players to possess through the middle in

0 How Do I Coach My Goalkeepers With No Goalkeeper Coach - Part 1

By Philip Cauchi Question - We don't have a goalkeeper coach, so I have to do all the GK training.  I have to get this done in regular training sessions with the team, so do you have any ideas for me to get my goalkeeper training done at the same time as my players? The

3 Defining the Danger Areas in the Attack

By Matthew Carroll This article is less to tell you how to use common terminology to explain the areas of attack to your players, but to give you an idea how this can be structured so you can create your own that fits your team and style of play. The use of common terminology is

0 How to Call For the Ball

By Mike Smith - In almost every game, there are going to be those moments where the keeper and the defenders both have a play on the ball. While we all know the keeper can and should call off the defense, most of the time coaches just go with any outcome which doesn’t result in

0 4 v 4 With Four External Supporting Players

By Arthur Bell - Setup: Area – 40yd x 60yd box. Players x 12. Attackers (Black) x 4, Defenders (Yellow) x 4, Neutral (Red) x 4. Execution: Area is divided into 2 equal rectangles. Play 4 v 4 in one half of the field with the support of 4 external players. The attacking team keep

3 Atalanta Defending eBook

0 Turn Your Shape to Train Possession

By Mike Smith I have found 3 distinct common developmental categories for initial youth soccer teams. I am talking about the time around 8 to 10 years old when the focus on teams and tactics starts to take hold. What I have seen from a strictly cursory non-scientific view point are teams ( and thus

0 Finding Half-Spaces as an Attacking-Midfielder

By Dan Severn Being successful in an attacking midfield role requires the player to be intelligent off-the-ball. They need to have great awareness and timing of movement in order to find spaces at good times to receive the ball. If they manage to combine the timing with the movement, it can lead to opportunities to

0 How to Motivate Your Players to Give Maximum Effort

By Philip Cauchi Question - Sometimes my players just go through the motions at training sessions. Are there any tips for getting them motivated to put in maximum effort at training sessions? The best way to get our players to give their one hundred per cent in training is to get them motivated through interesting

0 Conditioning With Attack v Defense

By Philip Cauchi Title: Position specific explosiveness. Theme: Applied power. Development of the soccer domains: Technical: Medium range passing, oriented first touch, dribbling forward at speed, tackling, crossing (including cut back passes) and finishing. Tactical: Attacking down the flanks and getting unmarked inside the penalty area. Mental: Quick decision-making of how to create space, get

0 1v1 End Zone Game

By Matthew Carroll - Description: The 1v1 End Zone Game is meant to create a situation where players are competing in 1v1 situations, both offensive and defensive, but are forced to be spatially aware of three different areas they can score in, as well as adjusting to the traffic of the other players in the

0 Analyzing the Movement of a World Class Striker

By Matthew Carroll Analyzing Movement of Dortmund’s Erling Haaland Against Schalke As a fan of the English Premier League and Major League Soccer I only have taken a cursory glance at the Bundesliga. The pandemic changed that when it became the first league to return from the shut down. I had heard about how incredible

0 Teaching Diving to the Ground

By Mike Smith - “JUST FALL ON IT!!!!” I have carved out my coaching niche over the past 20+ years working with not just youth soccer – (U8 – High School) but also new or struggling teams and programs. One constant for me has been the need to “make” a keeper for almost every team

0 Play Out of the Back 4v3 Game

By Arthur Bell - Setup: Area – 40yd x 60yd box. Goals x 2. Players x 14. GK x 2 Mannequins x 3. Execution: Two teams of seven players plus a goalkeeper. Each team has four defenders in one half of the pitch and three attackers in the opponents’ half of the pitch. The aim

0 Atalanta Attacking eBook

0 Let Your Fullbacks Roam

By Mike Smith In a recent high school district championship match, the perennial district champs found themselves down 1-4 to the usual runners up with about 20 minutes left to go in the match. After a furious comeback to level the score and force overtime, the comeback win was completed off a corner kick from

0 How to Protect Your Center Defenders With a Holding Midfielder

By Dan Severn The role of the defensive midfielder keeps evolving, but one key job that remains a major part of the role is to protect the central defenders. Defined in two major ways, the defensive midfielder can be a player that seeks out the danger and presses centrally to win the ball (think Claude

0 Should You Change Your Formation Because of the Opposition?

By Philip Cauchi Question - Should I change my formation and/or style of play if we are playing against a team that is stronger than us? Same question for if we are playing a team that is not as good as us. Should I push more players forward, defend deeper, etc? The level of our

0 Conditioning Session Combined With Finishing

By Philip Cauchi Theme: Intermittent training. Development of the soccer domains: Technical: Receiving, passing and shooting at goal. Tactical: Mobility, length and depth in attack. Mental: Move quickly to provide a passing option after playing the ball. Physical: Keep performing the quality of football actions for a prolonged period of time by delaying the onset

0 Two Team Rondo

By Matthew Carroll - Description: The purpose of the Two Team Rondo is to create a Rondo activity that involves increased levels of chaos by reducing space and increasing the number of participants in the average rondo. Setup: Two teams set up a rondo, every other person in the rondo is on one team, and

0 Marcelo Bielsa Defending eBook

0 Team Handball For Goalkeeper Training

By Mike Smith - When I was getting my USSF D License I remember the instructor saying “If you are working on defense, work on defense. Don’t worry about what the attackers are doing!” What the instructor (Coach Parrish ) was trying to do was make sure the coaches understood the need for clarity and